Myths: What are the scariest ones you’ve heard about lubrication?
TLT Sounding Board November 2011
Several were actually amusing. One reader said his car dealer claimed that changing engine oil brands voided the manufacturer’s warranty. Another heard a customer say that changing oil every evening will keep your machine running fine. Many lubrication myths had a familiar ring: “all oil is the same,” “change your car auto every 3,000 miles,” “if a little grease is good, a lot is better!” Unfortunately, many of these lubrication myths represent a serious lack of understanding about proper lubrication practices, which comes as no news to TLT readers. Many industrial end-users believe synthetics cause leaks or damage seals. Too many think oil can be judged by its color. Others think all additives are alike. When you consider the amount of wear, breakdowns, failures, lost machinery and wasted money these practices can cause, then lubrication myths truly are scary.
Synthetic oils are too slippery to allow proper break in.
All brands of oil of the same type (engine oil, hydraulic oil, gear oil, etc.) are the same, since they all have to meet the same specifications.
Water is a natural or normal contaminant in oil. You can measure viscosity with your fingers. Oil—the more viscous the better.
If you change your oil filter, you don’t have to change your oil. You can go 100,000 miles between oil changes if you use synthetic oil. As long as it says 40Wt, you are OK.
Light-colored oil doesn’t contain enough additives. If the oil is dark in color, it may contain/be made with recycled oil.
If oil looks clean, it is clean.
Aftermarket additives should be used in fully formulated oils.
Oil is oil, doesn’t matter what kind you use.
0W-30 (really any 0W oil) is too thin for my climate or year-round use.
Synthetic lubricants will make your machine leak. Group II and Group III basestocks are synthetic.
All metalworking fluids are the same less the dye.
People just don’t understand synthetics. Many consumers are afraid of synthetics based on stories they’ve heard.
It is said that 75% of all hydraulic system failures are caused by contamination. In practice, leaks are the most common hydraulic failure mode. Leaks are caused by cyclic pressurization (fatigue) of seals, hoses, fittings, etc., not contamination.
Mineral and synthetic are not compatible. The thicker the oil, the better the performance.
Machines don’t malfunction, it is always oil that goes bad.
Don’t change your car oil, just add oil when needed.
If it needed more additive, the company would have put it in!
If a little antifoam (or pretty much any tankside additive) is good, a lot is better.
If I change HD engine oil, the engines will consume oil.
Grease is grease. One is all you need.
The most important property of oil is viscosity. This statement requires qualification in some cases and is erroneous in others. Unfortunately, dogmatism is rife in the teaching of lubrication.
Burnt oil works fine on roller chains.
If you are using mineral oil, you can’t switch to synthetic oil.
Discussing engine oil preferences with motorheads is almost like a theological discussion. It is incredible how brand loyalty and anecdotal experiences lead to a very lively argument about how dumb I am for using Brand A.
You must change your car oil every 3,000 miles.
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What is the single greatest source of lubrication myths?
Insufficient or inadequate lubrication training 46%
Infomercials and advertisements 11%
Word of mouth 38%
Lack of common sense 12%
Based on results from some 13,000 TLT readers. Total exceeds 100% because some readers chose more than one answer.
Lubes and greases can be stored indefinitely without changing their performance properties.
The oil caused the wear/breakdown I am experiencing, not my inadequate maintenance or application procedures.
I can only use a certain brand of engine oil in my vehicle because the dealer states that if I use any other brand my warranty will be voided.
Too numerous to list. Lubrication is somehow mysterious to otherwise intelligent people.
Decarbonizing (read “cleaning”) compounds (very expensive) are being promoted by car service workshops—something that your engine oil is already doing!
That a multipurpose product exists that can be used for all types of grease lubrication.
That every gas station sells bottled magic for anyone to pour into the car, making the car run faster on less fuel consumption and with improved lubrication conditions. If that was the case, all major lubricant makers would already have that inside their products since competition is that hard.
Cutting fluids for machining are all the same.
A tribology system should have the same service life at 100 C operation temperature as one at 40 C if changing a lubricant with oil viscosity at 100 C with one at 40 C.
You can tell the exact viscosity of an oil by just feeling it.
Oil needs to be changed every 1,000-2,000 miles to maintain peak performance.
All oils are the same, lubricant companies just charge more for different oils to make profit.
For older engines, use only mineral oil.
Not so much issues with oil, but with greases. End-users are browbeaten into utilizing OEM-recommended greases. Many times you can never find out why a particular company specifies a particular brand of grease when, from a performance standpoint, the machinery or equipment is not exposed to environments that would require a specialized grease.
One of the best compounded gear oil works just find in the presence of water.
A synthetic is better than a conventional oil. This aftermarket oil additive really works. The oil gets thicker when it gets hot. A grease is preferable than an oil. Lubrication systems do not work. A lube system is a “fit and forget” solution.
Synthetics cause leaks. 5w30 is too light for high temps. Cannot top up engine with anything other than oil last used.
With a good filter you don’t need to change oil. Higher viscosity oil means the oil will last longer.
Oil wears out and must be changed often. Brands and weights can’t be mixed. Can’t mix antifreeze types.
The past predicts the future.
Economic growth is inevitable.
Just adding more additive is fine.
Lack of understanding about how lubricants (oils) have evolved over the last 10 to 15 years.
The higher the Total Base Number, the longer the oil will last.
Is the general understanding of lubrication improving among consumers?
Yes 32%
No 68%
Based on results from some 13,000 TLT readers.
Re-refined oils are of low quality (truly re-refined, not just recycled, filtered or other).
Oil color (or change) is an indication of product quality or viscosity.
We have to have (fill in color) grease....(fill in color) greases don’t work for us. Adding a quart of ATF to diesel fuel will clean up injectors and make the engine run better/more efficiently. Engine oil is affected by the wind chill factor.
OEM air-compressor lubricants have no direct aftermarket replacement.
All greases of the same color are equal.
People who think all grease and oils are the same need to learn more about interaction and additives. To not do so can lead to damage to, say, bearings.
Keep changing oil in the evening and your equipment will be fine.
Prices may differ, but oil is the same.
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Racing engine oil is better for my street car. Aftermarket additives are beneficial with any engine oil.
Oil is oil, so what difference does the additive packages make in performance?
Boric acid is hazardous.
Oil from a new 55-gallon drum is always clean and dry. If a little oil is good, a lot of oil is better.
I don’t have to keep my top-off container closed.
That’s just oil. I have more important things to worry about.
Synthetics lubricants are too expensive! In general, various lubricant makes are of the same quality.
Aren’t all synthetics the same?
Heavy-duty vehicles cannot run on oils with high temperature, high shear (HTHS) values lower than 3.5 CP due to wear issues. Going lower in HTHS will lead to catastrophic damages to the engine.
The heavier the base oil, the stiffer the grease. The NLGI grade is the same as the viscosity of the base oil. Synthetic oils are always better than mineral oils. The higher the dropping point of the grease, the better it performs.
Biobased is the same as biodegradable and non-toxic.
Synthetics make gaskets and seals dry out and then the equipment starts leaking.
That oil companies intentionally produce products that don’t last in order to sell more oil.
Is the general understanding of lubrication and lubricants improving among industrial consumers?
Yes 81%
No 19%
Based on results from some 13,000 TLT readers.
You can always add something to the oil to make it better.
A synthetic will work in any application.
Switching from a mineral to a synthetic causes all kinds of seal problems.
Paraffinic oils cause massive engine deposits. Any ATF specification can be met by adding a specified top-up additive.
You can’t run your car’s oil, even a synthetic, past 8,000 miles.
Different oils are not compatible.
It doesn’t matter what the SAE rating is (e.g., SA, SF, SJ, etc.) as long as it is 10W-20 or 10W-30.
You can’t break an engine in on synthetics. They are too slippery and the rings won’t seat.
It’s always the coolant’s fault.
Stacking weights on an antiseize demonstrator indicates the quality of engine oils.
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Best one—it came out of the ground, why can’t I put it back into the ground?
The higher the price of lubes, the higher the quality. All PCMOs are the same regardless of the brand or lack thereof.
Multiviscosity oils don’t retain their viscosity. All synthetic oil can be used at longer drain intervals than conventional oil.
You need to put an additive in your oil to prevent wear or extend the life of your engine.
A shot of WD-40 will cure anything that squeaks.
If an oil meets the same specification it is the same quality.
Editor’s Note: Sounding Board is based on an e-mail survey of 13,000 TLT readers. Views expressed are those of the respondents and do not reflect the opinions of the Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers. STLE does not vouch for the technical accuracy of opinions expressed in Sounding Board, nor does inclusion of a comment represent an endorsement of the technology by STLE.